Chapter 49
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: The Taoist from Wudang Mountain (1)
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I stood there frozen, not knowing what to do.
The woman reached out, extending her hand toward my face.
In that instant, my body reacted on its own, and I subtly stepped back.
A flicker of surprise crossed the woman's face, which had been filled with a bewitchingly seductive smile.
'This... woman...'
I had been completely entranced by the beautiful woman, but only then did I finally snap out of it.
Something was off about this woman.
Her sudden appearance here was suspicious enough, and the fact that she wanted to stay at my house made it even more dubious.
The flustered woman quickly plastered on another radiant, seductive smile.
As she smiled, her long black-and-white earrings swayed back and forth.
"Brother!"
Just then, Gwang-u's voice came from outside the door.
"What are you do...?"
Gwang-u burst into the house and came to an abrupt halt in front of the woman.
"Th-this... beautiful young lady... who is she...?"
Like me, Gwang-u stared at her in a daze.
The woman's smile deepened, and her black-and-white earrings shook even more vigorously.
In that moment, I saw the light fade from Gwang-u's eyes.
"What are you?"
My heart sank like ice.
The wildly shaking earrings stopped, and the woman's clear, lake-like eyes rippled with an eerie glow.
She slowly placed her hand on her waist.
And once again, she flashed that radiant, seductive smile.
Chwarururu...
From inside the sash binding her pure white silk robe, a thin, shimmering blade uncoiled.
Jiiing...
The wriggling, fluttering blade instantly straightened into a rigid sword, emanating a hazy glow.
"Don't kill her."
The Great Heavenly Demon's voice echoed in my mind as I was about to thrust my fist toward the woman.
Startled by the sudden voice, I froze for a moment, my hand halting mid-motion.
Sak.
"Gwang-u!"
Gwang-u, who had been entranced, snapped to at my voice and twisted his body away in a hurry.
But he was a bit too late—a thin red line appeared across his chest.
"You bitch!"
My fist sliced through the air toward the woman.
But this mysterious woman was no ordinary foe.
She twisted her body in an instant to dodge the punch, then lunged straight for my waist.
Srururu...
My form split apart to evade the sword.
The blade that pierced toward my waist sliced through it and went for my neck.
Hohohoho...
The woman's laughter echoed through the house as she cleaved through my afterimage, then faded away beyond the wall.
"Snap out of it, you idiot!"
At my shout, Gwang-u—who had been standing there with vacant eyes—looked down at the blood flowing from his chest.
Blood was beading up and trickling from the red line.
Any ordinary person would have had their chest split open and died on the spot.
"Brother. I just saw a fairy."
"You crazy bastard."
Shiiia...
I reached out my hand, and a rusty iron sword from inside the room flew into my grasp.
The moment I gripped the iron sword, my body was already soaring over the wall.
Whiiiish...
The iron sword left my hand and hurtled toward the fluttering figure in pure white, who was fleeing with her back exposed.
Just as the flying sword was about to pierce her back, the woman spun around.
Kwang! Kaak! Thud...
She struck the iron sword with her soft blade, failed to withstand the impact, screamed as she flew backward, and crashed into a boulder.
I caught the returning iron sword and approached the woman sprawled before the rock.
The heavenly fairy-like woman was vomiting blood repeatedly from her mouth.
The blood spraying from her mouth stained the pure white silk red.
Cough... Cough...
She looked up at me with trembling eyes as she spat blood.
"Sword control technique... How... How could a master like you be unknown to the martial world...?"
It wasn't perfect sword control.
In my haste, I'd used an imperfect version, but luck had been on my side, letting me subdue the enemy.
"What's your name?"
Hohoho...
The sight of her laughing while blood poured from her mouth was decadent yet beautiful.
But now, that beauty no longer stirred my heart.
Chalang chalang...
Her black-and-white earrings swayed.
Sak.
The rusty iron sword in my hand sliced off the black-and-white earrings dangling from both her ears.
Her expression changed again as our cold gazes met.
She stared into my eyes with a look of utter pathos.
Meeting those pitiful eyes, I suddenly felt the urge to help her.
This woman was a succubus.
She wouldn't hesitate to do anything to achieve her goals.
"Brother. Let's just let this lady go. I really want to spare her."
Gwang-u, who had followed me, was swayed by her appearance and urged me on.
But I absolutely did not want to let her live.
Sending her away now felt like it would bring catastrophe I couldn't handle later.
"Are you hurt badly?"
Not knowing my thoughts, Gwang-u approached her and tried to help her up.
"Stop."
"Brother!"
Gwang-u turned to me, raising his voice.
In that instant, a fierce glint flashed in the woman's eyes.
"Gwang-u!"
I shouted upon sensing the danger, but the woman was already kicking off the ground and leaping up.
Sak.
A flash of sword light grazed Gwang-u's neck.
And my form brushed past the woman.
Kaaaak!
A chilling scream shook the riverbank.
The woman's bisected corpse tumbled across the ground.
Gwang-u clutched the back of his neck, eyes wide in disbelief.
Red blood trickled between his fingers covering the spot.
"You okay?"
Gwang-u stared at me with shocked eyes, then shifted his gaze to the corpse on the ground.
The woman who had been as beautiful as a heavenly fairy had transformed into a wrinkled, withered old hag.
I was surprised too, but nothing compared to Gwang-u.
Gasp...!
Gwang-u gasped in shock, stumbled back, and fell flat on his butt.
"I don't know either, you fool."
I was startled by the sudden transformation into an old woman, but at least Gwang-u's injury wasn't severe.
Curious about her identity, I searched her body.
Gwang-u watched me with a strange look.
"Brother. You really want to do that?"
"You bastard... You wanna die? Where's this nonsense coming from?"
All I found in her robes was a money pouch with silver taels.
I undid the white leather sash around her waist and sheathed the soft sword I still held inside it.
The fluttering soft sword vanished into the sash.
"Bury her."
Gwang-u pouted and went inside to fetch a shovel.
Left alone with the corpse, I called out to the Great Heavenly Demon.
"Why'd you tell me not to kill her? What do you know about this old hag?"
But no answer came.
"I've lived this long, but I've never seen anything as terrifying as that."
Gwang-u, having buried the corpse, set the shovel down in the shed as he spoke.
This innocent fool seemed deeply shocked that the world's greatest beauty had died as a withered old woman.
But I was more worried about his habit of losing his mind at the sight of any beauty.
"When you see Miss Seok, I'll tell her all about today in detail. How you stood there entranced in front of a beauty, not even realizing you were about to die."
Gwang-u's face paled instantly, and he clung to me.
"Brother. I was wrong. I won't do it again. Forgive me just this once."
"Shut up, you bastard. What is it with you and beauties? You go insane every time."
"I know, but... I've never seen a beauty like that before. Be honest. You were shaken too, right?"
Though it was just his assumption, I couldn't respond to Gwang-u's probing.
I had indeed been shaken, if only for a brief moment.
That's why I hadn't reacted in time when that succubus attacked him.
But I didn't want to admit it to him.
He'd tease me endlessly about it.
"So why'd you come here first thing in the morning?"
I deftly changed the subject.
Only then did Gwang-u remember why he'd come, and he hurriedly explained.
"Brother. Two family maids who went on dawn patrol were found dead in the street. Nearby, there was also the corpse of an old herb gatherer. The Seok family's in an uproar—they've sent out all the maids to search the entire village. I couldn't just sit around, so I came out and stopped by to see you. I have no idea who's killing the Seok family maids. Help me out, brother."
This village truly never caught a break from incidents.
Leaving early would be the right call.
Once the Wudang Taoist exorcised that demon, I'd leave this accident-prone village immediately.
I irritably responded to Gwang-u.
"Sword, saber, spear, bow, whip—which one killed them?"
Gwang-u suddenly glanced around warily and lowered his voice.
"Brother. Don't freak out. There wasn't a single wound, but their faces and entire bodies were pale as white paper, like their blood was sucked out. This definitely wasn't a person's doing."
I met the vacant, cow-like eyes of Gwang-u.
How could he come up with such nonsense?
Even after what we'd just gone through, for him to say something so absurd meant his head was in another world.
"Go back to the family and tell them you've caught the culprit."
Gwang-u asked urgently.
"When? How? Was it a person? Or a monster?"
"You just buried her, you brainless idiot."
Gwang-u stared at me in bewilderment.
"How... That... How'd it turn out like that?"
"You think it was coincidence that the succubus showed up right after the maids died?"
"Oh, right. Brother really is smart."
I irritably glared at the awestruck Gwang-u and gave him one warning.
"Don't ever mention that she turned into an old hag when she died. Got it?"
"Why, brother?"
"Just do as I say. Understand?"
"Yeah, got it."
Gwang-u nodded and headed straight out the gate.
He was probably going to report to the family head as I'd instructed.
Once Gwang-u left, silence settled over the house.
I slung the carrying frame over my back and grabbed my axe.
It was time to go chop wood in the mountains.
Even if I left this house tomorrow, I needed to prepare firewood for when Gwang-u returned.
'If that guy marries Miss Seok, he might end up living here.'
He was annoying to be around, but I couldn't hate the guy.
I walked along the riverbank up the mountain, set down the frame, and began swinging the axe at a tree.
Thud! Thud! Crack... Boom!
After a few deep chops, the massive tree screamed as it toppled sideways.
I trimmed the branches and cut it into logs suitable for the frame.
I piled a full load onto the frame, caught my breath, and sat down nearby.
No sooner had I sat than random thoughts flared up like wildfire, disturbing my mind.
The first thing troubling me was a single phrase left by the Great Heavenly Demon.
'Don't kill her.'
The man who had thrown the world into chaos and brought death wherever he went hadn't wanted this succubus dead.
The Great Heavenly Demon was surely watching what I saw and hearing what I heard right now.
I opened my mouth and voiced my suspicions.
"The one who killed the Seok family maids was probably that legendary Essence-Absorbing Demonic Art from a hundred years ago. Right? Great Heavenly Demon. And the succubus who wielded that demonic art was naturally a demon... So, it seems like the Demonic Cult from back when you were its leader is reviving in these times... How about it? Am I right?"
I waited a long time, but no voice from the Great Heavenly Demon came.
"What a pathetic guy. Only speaks when he feels like it."
I subtly provoked him, but still, no voice replied.
With no choice, I stood up, shouldered the frame, and descended the mountain.